The Big Game...and Wheeling too

Special thanks to JR for hosting "The Big Game" on Saturday evening. And congratulations to Bob for besting the 10 of us. I think everyone had a good time who played, including me and the rest of the losers who just donated our $100 to the cause. But following that little adventure, the subject of Wheeling came up, as it does all so often among our little group. The idea soon took on a life of its own. Around 9:30-ish a group departed, heading northward, with your very own cheer_dad at the helm. Chris, Laura, JR, Teresa and I in our vehicle were joined by Vince and "his" Theresa in their truck. A cooler of beer was hoisted in for a little beverage consumption for the long trip. : ) No as the D.D. I abstained, instead stealing one of my daughter's Monster energy drinks. The drive up was great, lots of talk and laughter, and just us being us. We are after all a fun bunch!

When we got there, I wanted to head upstairs and at least "see" the table games of Wheeling Island's casino. I mean I've been there since they opened up, but I never left the poker room, to go check it out. That's what a lot of alcohol and a desire to win more chips will do. Anywho... Big Red, Laura and I headed upstairs. There was a live band attempting to belt out a Led Zeppelin song as we got off the escalator. I swear I say a senior citizen in the crowd wearing a Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon t-shirt. I remember thinking how bizarre, and surreal that it seemed.

On to the tables. WOW! They were packed. Teresa and Laura finally found their way to a 3-card-poker table with a MIN $15 bet. They opted for that when they couldn't get an open seat at a $10 Let it Ride table. I opted instead to pass on the tables, because of the crowd and the wait, and headed back down to the poker room. No wait necessary this time, and I was quickly seated at a $1/$2 NLHE table. I began first playing on my belly, since recall I was already down the $100 from back at JR's game. So, I didn't want to make the evening a complete disaster. The first hand I played was AKos, before the button made a full lap around the table. I got it from late position, and popped the bet to $12 preflop. I picked up only the blinds and 3 other callers. Grinned, dragged my dinky pot and tipped the dealer anyway. Good, my image was set. I would later try the same bet from the same position later and was able to grab a couple others as well, but I never really did it with trash, because on a number of occasions there were those who were ALWAYS suspicious. Post flop bets were effective, in most cases. What seemed to work best on this night however was a slightly more passive approach. Allowing the competition the ability to hang themselves. I screwed up on one hand only in the fact that I should have made more on it than I did. But it was early on and I was feeling the bunch out at the table. I could have VERY easily been spanked and sent to the rail on this hand. As it was, however, I dragged a decent sized pot, and let my opponent do the betting. The effect it had on others at the table probably was more better for me than a few extra bucks in the pot. The hand was pocket cowboys and I was in the small blind. It gets popped to $7 by the button... I pause, and repop to $15 to thin the herd, which works. The flop comes A-10-A. True I'd rather not have seen an ace, but I wasn't surprised. I bet out a small $15 after the flop, to make it seem a little suspicious. The button, slowly calls. The turn is a blank... and I check this time, and the button agrees. The River, is a wondrous King! The button reaches for chips, a little too quick when it hits, and I think/hope briefly he has made a straight. So I check to him. He bets out $25, and then it hits me that it's quite possible that he's been sitting on an Ace, and has just made a bigger boat than me with perhaps Big Slick. So, caution... being one of my stronger tendencies (translate I'm a puss) I just called it down. He proudly tabled his pocket Jacks, which I couldn't help but snicker at when I unveiled my Kings full of Aces!

Other hands of note, on the evening I hit a set and took down a decent pot. The most profitable hand of the evening was when I found A-Jos from the button, and just smooth called the BB, since it was nearing the family pot state. I flop an Ace and a Jack. Same opponent as before bets out $20, which I just call, in hopes of making a little more later on. I know it's greedy. I hit a miracle Jack on the Turn, so I'm in the driver's seat, still check it. My opponent drops another $20 bet out. I stare, don't speak (don't want to give the speech) and then I pop it to $60. And I get a call. I get it all in on the River and drag it in. That one felt good ladies and gentlemen. Okay I've got their attention. They know I've stolen a few hands, but every time they've seen me showdown, I'm kickin' ass. I did get involved in one hand with the drunk donkey from Ironton, OH, who at last call tried to order a 12-pack, to go along with the 15 cups he had stacked beside him. He'd been there since 10am. Preflop I look down at pocket Q's from early position and I pop it to $15 not wanting any real action on it. Ironton Drunk calls it. I've decided regardless of the flop I'm betting again. The flop comes 9-4-9... I bet out immediately $25. He counts, ponders, bullshits, and then pops it to $50. I pause... and then he starts giving me the office and trying to coax me into a call. Tells me he's only got a 9-2, which the little voice in my head tells me he's only telling a half lie. I drop... and don't give him any further sour grapes or pleasure. I read his lips later to his buddy at the other end of the table as he confided that he had A-9. Better to lose a little, than a lot more. Perhaps the $25 after the flop was a mistake when the board paired. But I found out where I was, right?!

I managed to make back what I lost on that hand with a few smaller less impressive hands, so no harm, no foul. Anyway... I finally cashed out when I realized my heart and mind were no longer in it. I found myself more concerned with what Ironton was going to do. He was donkin' it up, and mouthing off a lot to the table including the dealers and waitresses. He was out of it, and the table was becoming a little more hostile. He sent 2 or 3 players to the rail, and the table began to break apart. Two newbies joined, and I opted to leave. When I tallied up, I had doubled my $100 buyin. I was back even for the "entire" night of poker and that was fine by me.

I went upstairs to check on the little lady. She was fine and still at the 3-card-poker table. I hung out and watched for a while, and then headed back downstairs. I found the table I'd been at to be completely empty now. Also noteworthy was a large gathering of Security Staff members, EMT's, and Wheeling Police Department. And oh yeah an older guy bleeding profusely at the front of the poker room. Chris filled me in on the goings on, telling me that some drunk had just cold cocked the bleeder in the lobby as he walked by. My question "what drunk," came with a reply of the guy that was sitting right over there, with a hand gesture. The gesture pointed to my previously occupied table and you guessed it the guy from Ironton. I found a good vantage point to watch it all move forward. I finally spotted "Ironton" coming out of the bathroom and sitting down at a table at the bar, with his significant other. The police were talking to him and the to the victim as well. Then remarkably I saw Ironton get up and in his sloppy drunkenness try to hug the officer, who shoved him back and then Ironton and his lady walk toward the exit?!? WTF! I'm told by one of the dealers that someone has to press charges since it's on private property. But from what I could "overhear" from the victim and his son, they were definitely pressing. They were trying to get access to video. I'm not sure I agree, that the idiot shouldn't have been shown the steel bracelets right then and there. He was drunk, disorderly, and had just assaulted some innocent by-stander. The casino should share in the responsibility since they'd continued to serve the guy since 10am. I don't have all the facts obviously... but the whole thing other than the care given to the bleeder seemed a little lackluster. Maybe the occurrence is just too frequent.

This gave plenty of additional discussion for the drive home. On the way home, we stopped again at Denny's for breakfast. I drove halfway home and handed the helm to Teresa when we stopped for a bathroom break. It was the right move... I was tired. We finally got back home at 7:00am, and took a big nap, and basically lounged our way through the rest of the day.

I hope everyone had as good a time as we did, and we'll see you all real soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

RTFM... this time there isn't one

It's unfortunate. They don't come with and instruction manual. Sometimes they throw you the unexpected curve-ball. I'm talking kids. For all the good; there is also the bad and the ugly to be dealt with and managed. The past couple of days have seen me into uncharted waters in parenting, however, remarkably I have NOT completely lost my mind or composure. Okay, so I was closer to losing the latter, than the former. But as a family unit, we are all doing our best to get through a rough patch. Let's just say that teenage angst and the emotional/hormonal roller coaster ride that is adolescence is just dizzying in its effect. Only together as a family will we survive and grow. Perhaps how we as parents deal with the problems of our kids, and how they disappoint us is really the true measure of our strength. Then, again maybe it's a wonder that any of us has survived at all. But in spite of it all, I still love and support both of my children, and I wouldn't change a thing. Enough on the subject... moving on!

Baseball season is here. It's our first year in the "kid-pitch" league. I've been warned these games can be marathon like, even death march-ish. But, whatrugonnado?! It's for the children. No, I don't think it's going to be as bad as all that. I enjoy the games, I enjoy the kids. Heck, I even like a few of the parents. Now if only they served beer at the concession stand. I think we could fund just about anything we wanted at the ball fields, if we had just the profits from that. But that's a pipe dream, I know. Wouldn't be role model-ish now would it.

Big Game (poker) at JR's tomorrow. One table tournament, $100 buy-in. Cash game to follow, joined by some additional players at that point. There's a skilled crowd with far-reaching styles to be contended with. It'll be interesting, fun, and likely exhausting mentally all at the same time. I for one am looking forward to it. Even if I'm just there to donate to the others. Not my plan... but always a possibility.

Thanks for dropping by.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Methinks trouble's a brewin'!!!

You see Google Alerts are good for something. I got my daily Google alert email related to MTR Gaming and what do I find but the following articles which report that some of the Mountaineer Casino's employees may very well go out on strike THIS SATURDAY! Read all about it:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5650059.html (oddly enough I found it in the Houston Chronicle.)

http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=24164 (and subsequently found a similar story back in West Virginia.)

According to the articles 206 employees are set to go on strike in protest of "poverty wages." Included in these workers are the cashiers, slot technicians and money room employees, all of which are represented by Local 23 of the United Food & Commercial Workers. I won't requote all of the particulars of dispute (when you can read them in the articles above) but in my estimation I would kind of agree with the workers in this labor dispute. The fact that the wages being paid do seem a bit skimpy is an understatement. Add to it that the same Union Local represents the employees at Wheeling Island, which is the only other casino in the state of West Virginia currently offering table gaming and poker. The wage differences between the two casinos are as much as $2.00 per hour. And according to the article Wheeling employees insurance is paid 100% by the casino. This in a casino less than an hour away. Sorry MTR Gaming, that's going to be a difficult position from which to offer up any legitimate argument! Face it, if Delaware North Companies Inc. (owner of Wheeling Island is doing it and remaining profitable then I think there can be little excuse, that MTR cannot do the same.)

Recall that poker and table gaming only recently came to the Mountain State, and the voters in each of the counties where casino/racetrack establishments existed had to approve it. One of the arguments was that increased revenue for the state and new jobs would be a positive result of passing the initiative. But as the Union Representative Tony Helfer is quoted from the MetroNews article as stating, "...our members qualify for a lot of state assistance benefits and we think it's wrong that the residents of West Virginia should be subsidizing a racetrack." I for one would have to agree, pumping money into the state's coffers via taxes only to suck them right back out to the people employeed by the casino. Well, something just doesn't seem right about that, particularly when both Wheeling Island and Mountaineer Casinos are both boasting such profits and successes directly related to the recent addition of table games.

MTR Gaming, I think you can do better! In fact, I think I'd bet you on it!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Traffic to this site, via PokerSpace

"Interesting." Let me first say this is NOT a paid advertisement or endorsement. Just interesting and curious. A few of my friends and I have recently been making the rounds of a relatively new site http://www.pokerspace.com/. In addition to the obvious freerolls that they offer (so far on UltimateBet and Walker Poker) they also have some interesting promotions, forums, and a poker school. The school has interested me most. Although I read several books when I first got fired up about poker along with the rest of the world. I must admit that many of the concepts that I read about were perhaps a bit advanced for my skill level (nil) at the time. Now that I've been playing online, live, and hosting A LOT of home tournaments and ring games... well let's say I've improved over time. The PokerSpace site, while I was giving it a test run, actually recalled some concepts that I knew I'd read a few years back, and hadn't thought much about since. You know, you get that mentality that you've been there, done that mentality, and tend to dismiss knowledge/wisdom when it's staring you in the face. While reading through the lessons on the site and then taking the subsequent quizzes, I came across some things that I really didn't have as good a grasp as I might have thought. Of particular interest was the concept of calculation of outs and how they relate to pot odds. Sometimes the call is the right move despite how queasy it might make you in the depths of your gut. I was breezing through a number of the "Basic" quizzes when I ran into one and actually failed it! Yikes! And the added insult to injury, I couldn't just retake it on the spot. PokerSpace built in a 4-hour wait time. You click happy types need not apply! So, I kept studying and went back and even looked at quizzes that I passed, and looked to see where I wasn't scoring 100%'s. There have been some interesting revelations. I'm not as friggin' smart as I thought I was. Particularly humbling was the Sponsorship Test. It took me a few tries (and a number of 4 hour waits built in) to pass this sucker. AND when I did, there was still room for improvement. I did end up getting a sponsorship to Walker Poker, which I'm happy to report I've earned a few extra dollars and cents poking around the tables, in the shallow end of the buy-in pool! Grow the little bankroll right, and make something of it!

Okay I've given my background with the site now. Let me give some additional background. I Google'd PokerSpace and found the following synopsis of their site:


Pokerspace.com aims to become the largest online poker community for players across the world by providing a broad functional social networking platform dedicated exclusively to poker players. Pokerspace is well on its way to become the leader in online poker communities. Pokerspace is backed with exciting live marketing campaigns and a growing online presence. Pokerspace provides its members with a solid poker education system accompanied by a points system that will keep our online members active and playing consistent poker on our preferred brands. Pokerspace moved into BETA stage as planned on December 1st, 2007 and it has been attracting users at a increasingly fast pace. We expect to hit 100,000 users by the end of 2008 and this estimate is very moderate given the current rate of user acquisition.

I think the fledgling poker community is on to something and may make a run of it. I for one have enjoyed my time on their site.

Now back to what "really" started all this discussion and made me start the post with the word, "Interesting." I fired up Google Analytics this morning, as I commonly do, to see if anyone has even visited to the ole NDPT blog. Now, I'm no where near the top of the blogger world and don't expect to achieve that status, any time soon, or EVER for that matter, but I did see a slight spike over the last few days. So I decided to dig a little deeper and see why. The keywords that started driving "John Q. WebSurfer" my way were predominantly (at least recently) to do with PokerSpace.com! And what gave me a real chuckle is... I'm huge in Eastern Europe! Heck I got more visits from Poland than I did from Canada!?! And I don't even know if I can find "Latvia" on the map. Sorry! BUT whatever the reason, and however you got here, I'm glad that you stopped by. Hope you found something that caught your eye, and that at some point you return to see what "cheer_dad's" up to. But if not, I'll understand. It's like I've always said this blog's for me. It's good therapy. And honestly I enjoy doing it. If someone else finds a nugget or two of wisdom or a laugh from time to time, well that's okay by me too! Carry on, feel free to visit. Consider this to be the welcome mat.

In closing... I will say that I'm NOT going to post my answers out here to the http://www.pokerspace.com/ quizzes and tests. Face it people, I advocate reading and think we should each of us engage ourselves in the noble pursuit of learning. Well, it couldn't hurt anyway... If you do wander over there to check 'em out yourself, I'm part of the NDPT Crew (go figure) feel free to say hello. And no, I'm not looking for a referral credit.

"I'll see ya, when I see ya..."

Regards,

cheer_dad

Happy Easter

Short walk down Memory Lane, and a small chuckle:



Happy Easter!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Easter weekend

Not a terrible weekend of poker. I mean I've lost live and all. The weekend began actually clear back on Thursday night, when after returning home after the Eagles drawing (and another war declaration against the accursed Jack Daniels.) I for some unknown reason opted to log on to Sportsbook.com and play some poker. I know, drunk and poker don't mix. Well I bought in on two .05/.10 NLHE tables and turned $29.xx in my account into $47-ish. Go figure, and no it's not plausible that they were actually drunker than I was. Then, the following evening found me venturing over to the Shuman cash game. He had two tables running. My table predominantly was calling for Omaha. I obliged and was only able to tread water. I finally donked it all off to Russell, when I missed my flush draw and lost two his flopped two pair which he subsequently turned into a straight. Go figure. Didn't really matter, I had a good time anyhow.

My eye was bothering me though... really bothering me. When I got home, and finally took off the sunglasses, it was bright red, and was beginning to feel like I had taken sand paper to it. I took some pills and went to bed. I awoke this morning to my eye being very nearly matted shut. Big Red immediately insisted that I get my dumb ass to Quick Care. Turned out to be my quickest visit ever. A few pokes and prods, 3 prescriptions, including eye drop anti-biotics and some other oral antibiotics and I guess I'm on the road to recovery. The meds kept me away from alcoholic consumption for the remainder of the weekend.

Flash forward beyond the day at Teresa's aunt's house for an early Easter Egg Hunt and dinner, and then we end up over at JR's for the PartyLite (Candles) party, which we actually missed followed by a cash game which then morphed into a Tourney. Early on, I was doing okay and hit some enormous hands, and thought I was cruising on to the top spot. I made it to the final table of 8. Then disaster and rising blinds struck. From late position I look down at A-10os, and just opt to call. I flop Aces and 10's, and shove out a 3/4 pot size bet, and get an all-in raise from Vince. I call, for like a total of around $1,000. He shows his A-Q. The turn turns nightmarish for me when a Q drops. Ouch... But I'm still okay, just have to bide my time, and wait.

The blinds continue up and at the 300/600 mark, it's getting pricey, and starting to smart a little. Vince, ends up getting spanked hard by the little lady to my right, and exits the tourney. I'm beginning to see garbage hands, and little more, but I'm watching the same said lass morph into an absolute calling station, and she along with a couple others are just tripling people up to the point that now I'm the frackin' short stack. Scratch frackin' insert fuckin'. I start shoving all-in over the top and steal a couple of hands. BUT, I zigged one last time when I shoulda zagged, and ran smack dab into the lady again, when she flopped top pair, w/King kicker. Yeah, see ya cheer_dad, and oh by the way you just bubbled. Still okay, I'm tired, sober, and ready to go home. Big Red's already migrated to the Eagles again, and a little slot play. As I leave JR's I call her to see what's what, and if I'm supposed to pick her up, just as she's telling me she's UP on the machines, some fucking douchebag nearly T-Bones me at a 4-way stop. I was stopped... he failed to even brake. I slammed on the brakes, swerved, and swore profusely and in that order! Okay now tilt hits. I think sailors somewhere blushed. Still no collission though, so I guess that's a plus.

Now I'm at home waiting to pick up Big Red in a minute and felt inspired to share all the above with you all. Hope you like the cute bunny in honor of Easter above. But really it's just a dedication to myself for being such a poker idiot.

On a lighter note though, Happy Easter, and I hope the candy rots all of our teeth! See you all again, and all-in soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

1st Day of Spring

The picture to the left greeted me this morning just after 6:00am, and was Google's representative announcement that Spring is here. Of course, I was on my computer from home, so early waiting for the FROST to melt off my truck's windshield! So I guess they really need a disclaimer saying your mileage may vary (YMMV.) Thankfully the rains stopped last night. Not only did the creek rise enough for there to be debris on the small bridge which serves we dwellers of Wildood, but my backyard looked a bit like a river at some points yesterday evening. Cole once again, started with his 20 questions of "where are we supposed to go if it floods?" I half wanted to answer, "wherever the current drags our drowned bodies," but childhood's tough enough, so I just told him that "the rain would stop soon (and don't start that again son.)" An hour later he looked outside, and the rain had stopped. How's that for power over the elements, boy!?

I stumbled across the following article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7306293.stm which remarks on the passing yesterday of Science Fiction author Sir Arthur C. Clarke. He was best known for his work "The Sentinel" which was adapted into 2001: A Space Odyssey.

His gift to humanity has been the inspiration of imagination in us all. May he rest in peace.

I know some of you came here in search of "poker content." But as many a great player will tell you, there's more to life, and we would each be well served to remember that. I mean I'd say, "hey it's just a game," but then you'd know that I was just being ridiculous!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Happy St. Patrick's Day, to you and yours

Today's a fine day for the wearin' o' the green, don't cha know! And in the spirit of this most festive of holidays here's my most favorite of all Irish blessings:

May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face.

And rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Can you be at all surprised that this would be one of our favorite holidays? I mean my last name is Murray, and I married a fiery red-headed lass by the last name of Flanagan. I swear if you cut us we'd likely bleed green, especially today. So raise your glass and join the celebration.

May the luck of the Irish be with you each and every one today, and throughout the year.

As for the weekend that was, it was yet another Poker Palooza. Friday night at the Yanok's was as always a great evening. We stayed for both games on this night. I didn't do so well, but the lovely Big Red held up her end, taking down the top spot in tourney #1, and the March qualifier. Her place in the year end event is assured and likely to be accompanied by a great many chips. The second game ended quickly for her when she ran in to what I can only term as Hurricane Melinda! Melinda was new to the game, but a long time friend of the Yanok's. She was nice, and we all liked her, but she definitely had Lady Luck perched on her shoulder. I've never seen someone play so many hands with absolutely nothing and come out on top. My hats off to you, I'll take luck over skill any day. (Now really... about those lottery numbers that I asked you for!) Melinda ended up finishing 2nd in that 2nd tournament, to Frank Wolfe, who admits that she almost took him down too. He was forced to abandon any semblence of a real strategy when it came down to heads up play. Thank you to Shelly for having us for the night, and Brian, sorry you were stranded at the airport in Detroit was it. See you next time.

The following night (Saturday) was NDPT #3-ish, held right here at our home. A group of 24 people showed up to play. Many of you in festive pre St. Patrick's Day warm-up mode! Chris, have your teeth and lips returned yet to their normal color? Matt and Scott L ended up chopping the pot when they got down to heads up. Congratulations! I was pleased yet again to make a final table and cash out up for the night. Thus far consistent play has netted me a small profit for the year and put me atop the NDPT Points race. But that's enough of me tootin my own horn isn't it. Then again, if you don't like go get your own damn blog! : ) Seriously though, thank you to all who showed up and made the night a great success, once again.

I'll be seeing many of you this weekend once again over at JR's house, while the ladies enjoy a "PartyLite" party, the men folk will be in the basement as usual drinking beer and playing cards. See you all soon!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Allman's gauntlet

And just in time for the weekend we've got RAIN, to go along with our nosebleed high GAS PRICES! But there are some rays of sunshine in an otherwise joyless world. Tonight's the Yanok's Poker Tournament (March qualifier.) And others among the greater NDPT collective will as well be joining Shuman for his cash game extravaganza. The bad beats and gnashing of teeth will be heard all over town. : ) That's the story for tonight, so yes I'll be playing poker tonight. BUT tomorrow night's where the story will be. I'm hosting NDPT #3-ish. Yes, boys and girls this is a points qualifying game, and YES that is MY NAME currently listed on top of the LEADER BOARD. (Pauses briefly to toot own horn...) I received a smack talk email earlier from one "All-In" Allman informing everyone that he was gunning for me. According to Frank, "The gauntlet has been thrown." So, oh yeah... it's go time baby! I absolutely love the sentiment as Steve put it though:

"GOOD LUCK TO ALL!! (not really its just something you say.)"

Great insight in those words...yeah, it's gonna be a real shame when I send you to the rail tomorrow night.

If anyone has difficulty in finding me this weekend, I'll be the one crawling into the bottle of Jack Daniels. Time to drown some more of those demons and let the battle rage on. See some of you tonight, the rest tomorrow.

Regards,

cheer_dad

A little PLO goodness

Looking for inspiration this morning to begin the blog writing du jour I headed back to Google and fired up an image search. I was just looking for a lead in but low and behold I found a topic instead. It all started with a search on "cubicle farm." and somehow I ended up over at ThinkGeek.com (which by the way I highly recommend their vast collection of geek shirts as well. But I hadn't seen the cube people before, and well I've probably found a new way to waste more of my money. Check 'em out for yourself, and you gotta take a look at the "Action Shots" sent in by their customers. These are great!


What started it all really though was me looking for a lead in, like I said. After the daily drudgery of work and then heading home for a 30 minute treadmill run, Cole's homework, a chat with Whitney, and getting the clan situated eventually for bed; well frankly I was spent. I needed a little ME time. So, of course I fire up the laptop and scope out the poker landscape. PokerRewards becomes the target of opportunity. Last night I'd donked off a couple bucks on PokerStars, the few that I'd either won in a freeroll or been given as a pittance by the PokerStars overlords. Tonight I was looking for things to go better, than that. The previous night I'd lost hard on AKs, AKos (twice), and while sitting on an OESFD (open-ended straight flush draw) with two cards to come...and couldn't get there. I didn't want a repeat, obviously. So, I sitting staring at the glow of the screen wondering what to play and who to give my money to and I put my name on a waiting list for .05/.10 NLHE, and then I happen to glance at the coffee table. There's my CardPlayer magazine, with my wife's favorite poker god on the cover, Patrik Antonius (I don't even want to think about what unspeakable acts...) And I recall Teresa recapping for me the article (yeah, she looks for the articles) and she had told me that when Patrick first started playing it was online and he deposited a couple hundred bucks and played PLO, and within a couple months had turned $200 into $20,000! Well to hell with her poker eye candy, I can do that too! (Okay, no I can't but I'd like to anyway.) So I drop my name on the .05/.10 Pot Limit Omaha game (Hi/Lo) since that was where the peeps were. I get called to that table first! Of course not long after that I get seated at the Hold 'em table as well, so I end up playing both poker varieties simultaneously, which remarkably didn't get confusing at all!

Again, I know these are some mighty low stakes for the most of you, but right now let's just call it "good bankroll management" on my part. Okay!? So, I've got $20 in total sitting on the tables, and of course it starts out slow for our hero. But then a rhythm starts. I start to get hit by the deck. Man I remember sessions like this! They haven't happened in a very long time. I wasn't playing great, just getting cards, and for once was capitalizing on the opportunities that were presenting themselves. The Hold 'em table I was mostly treading water on, and it finally started to break up. I ended up playing heads up for a while against one guy who was just cleanin' my clock, winning pots with a card just one better, most often. If I had a Jack, he had a Queen, you get the picture. No biggie, I was really more focused on the Omaha table, inspired by my wife's man candy. Normally when I sit down to play with $10 at a table, I'm content to walk away with a buck or two, ah hell I'm content just to walk away being down by that much. Tonight though, I cashed out from Omaha for over $33!!! Yeah, I know, more than tripled up at a table. Why? Like I said I was getting hit by the deck, and I was just playing to have a good time. I wasn't bogged down by the typical bullshit. I was there to relax shake off a little of the day's wear and tear. I started playing more drawing hands, scoping out straights and flushes. Then, my attention was grabbed by the fact that most of these guys were playing the high and seldom the low, when betting. So, I started sweetening the pot for myself with my low hands, and taking 'em down. Then I hit a series of full boats, when the board screamed flush and a few times I was flopping my boat! On top of that, I was scooping (taking the high and the low in a number of cases.) I even hit Quad Kings once and destroyed some guys full house, and sent him to rail cryin' for mommie! When I finally cashed out, I felt satisfied (for once.) I don't credit my win to great play at all, but I was able to boost my wins and milk 'em for all they were worth.
When I looked down at the coffee table again, I swear Patrick winked and gave me the thumbs up. Yes, Teresa he's a good looking guy... I'd do him! : ) She hates it when I say that! :P

But speaking of good lookin' can I assume that this is his wife? She's not too hard on the eyes either!

Anyway, it's time to call this a blog post and get on with the rest of the world.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Battle against UIGEA wages on and on...

I posted a comment over on Lou Krieger's blog following his article/post linked here, regarding a decision being rendered in relation to the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.) I read through the post and as always I remain skeptical, so I went out to the iMEGA.org website to read just what was being lauded as a "victory" on the side of internet gaming (more importantly and specifically as it relates to poker.) That statement on their site included a link to the actual "Memorandum Opinion" that was rendered, found here. Unfortunately for Mr. Krieger and other journalistic venues including http://www.gambling911.com/online-gambling-031008.html have one fact reported incorrectly. The statement that a judgement came from "a U.S. Supreme Court Judge" is not accurate. The Memorandum Opinion was issued by Judge Mary L. Cooper, of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. This merely granted iMEGA the standing to pursue a challenge of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). As well within the 29 page opinion, I'm not finding the language which agrees entirely that potential criminal liability by financial institutions with regard to the UIGEA has been absolved by the judge's opinion. Trust me... I wanted to find it, but I don't see it there. Then again, I've missed things before and I'm not an attorney so I'll be the first to admit my inadequacy. If some additional documentation exists to add credence to the assertion that this element of the UIGEA has been thrown out, please someone let me know! I'd love to see it, and I'd start showing it to my own bank/credit union and pump more money into the poker economy forthwith.

Do NOT construe my comments as criticism of Lou Krieger who I greatly admire and respect. I believe he has reported consistently and kept the poker blogging community very well informed on the subject of the fight against the UIGEA. I for one am grateful.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Pick a card, draw a straw...

Whatever floats your boat (or in this case my boat) there are A LOT of great choices for me to choose from to play poker. So many so, that my online play has all but disappeared, although last night I dropped .15 on PokerStars when my frackin' Suddenlink modem decided to drop me! Suddenlink, much like Charter before them sucks! But I digress. Anyway back to the options of poker play. Of course as regular readers here some of you will already have read about my adventures in Donk-Dom (a.k.a. Wheeling Island.) So, as always that's a casino just a short drive up I-77/70. But this months options have really exploded. Friday night I have two great options to pick from. Juicy cash game at my good friend Shuman's house or head over to another great Yanok's qualifier tournament. Saturday is spoken for by me, as I'll be hosting the NDPT 3-ish tournament of the year. To further complicate things, Matt called last night saying that Bob was hosting a cash game (that night.) It was later when I got in, I was tired and didn't go. Besides I've already committed and overextended myself on playing lately. But I'm not even done with the options available to me for the month. The following weekend some of us will likely be playing while the ladies are attending a PartyLite party. They'll of course invade after the orders and invoices have been signed. And then finally we round out the month on the 29th, with the game at JR's for a little BIGGER than usual game. He'll be hosting a $100 tourney, for a single full table game. I feel my bankroll withering or growing exponentially as I type this. Eventually though I do want to get back to the bigger game, and take another shot. Granted it ain't 3 stacks of high society, but it'll have to do!

Thanks to Del for getting "us" access to the "TwoPlusTwoForums" through the proxy again!!! Now if I can resist the urge to be out there reading all the time and get some actual work done! :) Can't say as I've actually succeeded in the effort today! Also, last night my new CardPlayer magazine showed up in the mail, but I may never get the chance to even read it. On the cover this month is none other than Patrik Antonius and my wife immediately seized the magazine to commit some tawdry act I'm sure! Yeah Big Red likes her some of that man candy!!!

At any rate, hope all is well with each of you out there toiling away in the blogosphere. Keep grinding it out!

Regards,

cheer_dad

The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King --a review

A while back I picked up a copy of Michael Craig's book, The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King. I finally got around to reading AND thoroughly enjoying it! The periods of time that I get to dedicate to reading are unfortunately limited, so there were times that I only got to read a chapter or so at a time. But what I usually wound up doing was sharing everything that I'd read with many of my fellow, local, poker players. What most of them usually got to hear was that I couldn't wait to read the rest of the book.

The story covers a series of poker games held between February 2001 and March 2004. To classify what transpired as "games" seems to trivialize what actually happened though. A series of heads-up limit Texas Hold 'em poker was played between a self-made Texas billionaire named Andy Beale and a collection of professional poker players at Table One at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. These were nosebleed stakes, that challenged even the upper boundaries and constitutions of the professional players involved. The stakes ranged from $20,000/$40,000 and culminated at an insanely high $100,000/$200,000! THIS was the biggest game ever played, and in the end nearly a staggering $20 Million dollars was in play! I'm still trying to comprehend and fathom the amounts and shudder to think how I would fare under the pressures of these lofty amounts. Who am I kidding? I WOULDN'T!

The professionals involved over the time frame varied, but included for the most part Doyle Brunson, Ted Forrest, Chip Reese, Jennifer Harman, Todd Brunson, Howard Lederer, Barry Greenstein, Hamid Dastmalchi, Chau Giang, John Hennigan and Gus Hansen (although a number others were invovled as well.) The insights into the various lives of these fascinating professional players were both entertaining and informative. The stories behind the story were intriguing in their own right. Of particular interest to me was the in-depth telling of Jennifer Harman's story. The diminutive little lady, while I have always admired her and her poker playing ability, she has been magnified 100-fold in my eyes after absorbing all that Michael Craig had to say about her. As well the interaction among the professional poker players was the stuff of a fantastic story in itself. The thought processes, the motivations to play at such epic stakes. The glimpse into such high stakes poker was both riveting and terrifying at the same time.

I don't want to cover any more of the actual occurrences and outcome of the games that Craig fully covers, since I recommend HIGHLY to anyone and everyone who drops by this blog and this review in particular to pick up your own copy today. You will find The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King. to be a real page turner, and very thought provoking.

My thanks and applause to Michael Craig for a masterfully crafted book. I'll be checking out your additional titles in the very near future!

Regards,

cheer_dad

So much for a Wheeling Feeling... : )

All things considered "my" trip to Wheeling wasn't so bad. Of course losing is never a good thing but playing from 6:30pm to 1:30am and being down only $27... well I suppose that's not so bad. Particularly if you consider the fact that at one point "early" on I was down just over $150. I was in the same seat ALL NIGHT. I got seated in relatively short order at a $1/$2 NLHE table when we got there, in the #3 seat and just never moved. There was a little turnover on the table, but for the most part the characters remained the same. Vince and I ended up at the same table, so that was kind of nice. We both had to shake our heads MANY times at some of the absolute garbage hands that we saw being played and some of the sick beats that were taking place. Not just to he and I but a few of the others at the table. The guy who was sandwiched between the two of us, was a gambler. He'd gamble anything... he didn't care, he wasn't a very good poker player in my estimation but he just had a knack for falling into hand after hand. He was calling $12-$15 preflop bets with absolutely nothing, and he said so just to see if he could suck out. Thinking back now, I don't think he folded any more than 10 hands the whole time preflop. Honest, I'm not makin' this shit up. Raised pots, unraised, all-in's you name it, he was in it...and oft times as evidenced by his stack he was coming up smelling like a rose. He wasn't the only one though. I've come to recognize an ever growing locals population inhabiting the poker room at Wheeling Island. All too many of them are regular weekend (if not daily) fixtures of the room. They know one another, the dealers, the floor managers, waitresses, hell even the guys picking up the trash. At times the degree of camaraderie among them and the staff is a bit un-nerving, but I'm not suggesting any impropriety, just that it tends to make me feel like bit of an outsider. But, the feeling passes and you insert yourself into the ebb and flow of the game.

One such fixture that some of you may recall was known to the entire room, I mean literally. "G" is the name. I referred to him in previous posts on my trips to Wheeling. Frank and I in particular took pictures of him the last time we were there. He was wearing so much bling that the he tended to "white" out the picture. You just saw this shiny spot in the center of the image. Like I said... EVERYONE in the joint knows this guy, goatie, bling, and hat cocked to one side and all. He tended to be in most pots as well, at least to start, then the tide turned and he dropped down into a tighter profile in the game. He ended up getting busted out with AKs when the guy in the #1 seat called his preflop bet and the subsequent all-in on the flop. Unfortunately for "G" the kid in seat 1 had hit two pair on the flop with his K3os. "G" launched his cards, which frisbeed off the table and onto the floor. The floor was called to retrieve them, harsh glances and a few parting comments from a tilted "G" yelling "nice fuckin' suck out" on his way toward the door. Dealers returned to dealing, players returned to playing, Diane (sp) the Poker Room Supervisor returned to her spot at the front desk, having assisted in averting yet another disaster in HER room. And yes, the place is HER ROOM, if you have any doubts about it. I watched her "escort" two idiots who tried to skip the waiting list and sneak in to an open seat. She showed 'em the door, quite unceremoniously. Hell, she even wagged a finger at me for texting a message at the table to JR, when I wasn't in the hand. Oops... busted. In all seriousness, your supervision of the place and care of the players and staff appears to be top notch. MY COMPLIMENTS to you!!! You're a credit to the Wheeling Island staff!

Two other notables for the room are two dealers, that make the game run smoothly and the place a great place to be! Debbie, your interaction with the players, dealing proficiency, and ballsy attitude is top notch. I love to see you tappin' out the current dealer, and joining the table. My other favorite dealer is Tera. You've got a smile that absolutely lights up the room, and you've got an incredibly kind spirit. As well you keep the table chugging along in the right direction. Don't know if any of you will ever read this blog to even see it, but hopefully others who trudge through the blogosphere and take note of all of these excellent staff members of Wheeling Island's poker room.

Okay, enough with the individual assessments and pats on the back, I made some notes during the evening of play to help me remember the more memorable hands in which I played a part, sometimes coming up on top, other times... eh... not so much. Here's my recollection of a number of hands based on the chicken-scrawls found in my shirt pocket:

1. This was I suppose a mistake for me. I'd been at the table for about one round without much in the way of a playable hand. I'm UTG and look down at AA! Now I have not seen a good hand so far... I have ALSO not seen a single unraised pot pre-flop thus far. Friggin' everyone raising it up, and despite $12-$15 preflop there were still typically 4-5 players seeing EVERY flop. So, I get inventive, and just "smooth" call. Of course the one time I try it, in hopes of getting a raise which I can shove in on and take a chunk right away, gets killed. 8 players to the FLOP! I'm still in the lead after the flop, and bet out $15, and get a few callers. The turn brings a possible straight draw on the board, but I'm still fairly happy with my Aces. River brings me a Set! Of course it also looms on the horizon as a possible straight completer. The button bets $35... I reluctantly make the call. Yeah his K-10os finally hit pay dirt and the straight. Cheer_dad mucks without having to show, sits back quietly and licks wounds. You might say, my mistake for not raising preflop, but I would argue that I would have been called down by some of them, and in particular I think the #1 seat would have called this in a heartbeat being on the button. I could have open shoved and take the $3 in blinds from my UTG spot, but I thought what I'd witness thus far at the table suggested otherwise. I've been wrong before.
2. The next stack killer hand I'll cover was A-Qos in late position. No real interest expressed in the hand when it gets to me, I pop it to $12 preflop. The #4 seat, pauses, looks at me and openly remarks, you never do that unless you've got a really good hand, and look at him straight and say, "yes, you are correct!" He calls, all others fold. I hit an Ace on the flop, and bet out $25, he calls, the turn brings a clone of the low card on deck (another 5) he checks to me, I shove with Aces and 5's, Q kicker. He shudders, shakes head and says sorry about your luck... he calls and tables his 5-8 (frackin' sooted) for the three of a kind 5's which hold through the River. CHECKS ON TABLE 8!!! Motherless fuck! is what I'm thinking, I grin, nod and say nice hand. Kept my cool and composure and rebought another $100. At my lowest point, I was down over $150, but I managed to climb back out from under it with a few of the hands that I'll cover now. (Gasp, that's right they weren't all bad!)
3. Here's a mild one, to warm up to that was a GREAT HAND that I could get paid on! I look down in late position to find KK, and pop it my customary $12 preflop, and get 2 callers. Flop comes KJJ. I get insta-wood of course, but get two checkers back to me, I pause and just decide to check cause I'm getting the eyeball. Turn and River fills in like 4 cards to a straight with even a possible flush out there, and I bet out a measly $15 and can't catch a single call! Both folders look and scoff, "yeah, nice buy!" I later confide to Vince that I indeed had a monster. Only the 4 of a kind to avoid. (Speaking of 4 of a kind I did see a monster pot that I wasn't involved in go to 4 of a kind 8's!!! against the #1 seat's boat.)
4. I was able to get away from pocket Nines once (only a little bit late) when a 10 came on the river, and I had a sense that I'd just been screwed. I dropped it and saw "G" drag back his all-in and the pot with a pair of 10's Ace kicker, while again the #4 seat who bet huge at me on the river and got me to fold as well had a 10 to invalidate my 9's, but he was holding a 10-2os, which I'm sure he plays 'cuz it's Doyle's hand. Yeah, impress me with your mastery of the poker lingo.
5. This hand turned things around for me. Again, late position I look down at the Hilton Sisters. (QQ) it is raised to $8 straight in front of me, I make it $25 to go, the original raiser all-ins it, I insta call, for actually a near equal stack (within $2 total) he proudly tables his 10's, I grin with my ladies. The ladies stand! I take it down, Checks on table 8 again... but NOT for our hero, cheer_dad. : )
6. Next hand, I get a guy all in after the flop with my pocket 10's which met their triplet on the flop. He called me down for all his stack with KQ, in dire need of a gut shot Jack, which never got there for him. I take stock after this, and laugh, Vince catches my eye, and say "I'm up by $1 for 3 1/2 hours play!" I rock out loud at this game now don't I!
7. Things dried up a little after that, and I started to dwindle, but regained enough ground to call it a night when I opted to play my least favorite ( i hate it) hand J-K off. I prefer to leave this one to the teen boys and a Victoria's Secret catalogue. Nonetheless, sorry to say, Jimmy Woods, I played that shit. As punishment, I flop an open-ended straight draw and say, you know, "what the fuck, it's my turn!" and throw out an uncharacteristic $30 after the flop. Insta callation by a short stack for all his marbles because his Q-6 connected with another little lady on the flop. But as lady luck saw fit... the suicide King fell on the turn, and well, she gave me a good seein' to! No more checks on table 8 this time, he takes the walk of shame. I decide it's nearing the "wow it's really late or early hour" and I grab the coat, turn off the iPod, cradle my chips and head to the cage.

Like I said, I'm down only $27 for the trip for all my poker playing efforts and all things considered I guess I made out okay, considering some of the things I ran in to. It was remarkable that I got away from some of the things that I did.

Anyway, hope at least some of you made it the whole way to the end of this post. Don't forget to tip your dealers and waitresses, they're working hard for the money.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Cry Havoc...

Today's my short day... but it won't be short enough. Some of us are making another trip right after work to Wheeling Island. Chris, Laura, Teresa, and I are going together, and I believe Vince and Theresa will be joining us as well, a bit later. So the NDPT will be well represented in West Virginia's northern panhandle this evening. This will be my first trip back since they've added full casino gaming tables. I'm curious to see the whole setup, the "limits" the whole atmosphere. My time, or least I intend to spend my time primarily in the poker room. More so than usual I want to actually play the game. Some of the observations I've made lately I've formed strategies for, or more correctly borrowed them from the masters of the game. Can you plagiarize an idea!? If so, then I guess I have.

When the others at the table look across at me I want them to see only this. I want to be robotic, and fall into that perfect rhythm which happens only when you fully embrace it and become a part of the game you are playing. Aside from all that, I want to play each hand the way it should be played, the perfect play at the perfect time. Be the player that you know that you can.
Okay so enough with all the metaphysical bullshit. It's Friday, lighten the frack up right!?!

I played last night in the Pokerspace UltimateBet freeroll. Unfortunately when there were about 50-ish players left, I had to go pick up Whit and JoJo from their school dance. Needless to say with blinds at the 200/400 mark, well it was only a matter of time. I finally was blinded out in 25th place. No payout whatsoever. BUT, again, I'm tending to go deep into tournaments. I'm watching the douchebags who accumulate early stacks just absolutely piss 'em away. I'm crediting that with making great decisions throughout my game. Bumping it from position with or without cards. Playing strong with strong cards. Make 'em pay, watch for the guy who keeps raising all the time, and then waiting for a monster hand, and smooth call in front of him and wait to get paid by his pushy stupidity.

If you can't tell, I'm on a mission. There are no guarantees but right now, I've activated the voice of the "id" in my head that's gonna convince me that I can eat lightning and crap thunder. I will inflict and deflect. I will as in the words of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!" BUT, despite the outward appearance I will remain calm, and recall my recent studies of calm and harmony... and yes, remain at one with self... ZEN.

May our trip be both enjoyable and profitable. I'm not feeling lucky, I'm not due, I'm not anything but prepared and ready to capitalize on the moment for as many of them as there are to be had! And what more is there really. "'Luck' favors the prepared mind!"

Regards,
cheer_dad

The Passing of Gary Gygax

Bear with me for just a moment fellow NDPT'ers. I'm deviating far from the poker center with this post, but I wanted to pause and pay homage to a man who helped a younger "me" develop an active imagination, an appreciation for the fantasy/sci-fi genre, and frankly a love of gaming in general. (Pardon me while the true geek within shows himself...)

The man was Gary Gygax. Born July 27, 1938 Gygax was an American writer and game designer, best known as co-creator of the first role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with Dave Arneson. He later co-founded the company Tactical Studies Rules (TSR, Inc.) with Don Kaye in 1973. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the "father of the role-playing game." To my childhood friends Rodney, Joe, and Randy he created a world that we wandered through for more weekend games than I can even remember.

When I read the article over at the BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7278927.stm I immediately headed over to Wikipedia to check out more about Gygax, and it was there that I found images of a number of the books and modules that I owned as a child and used to create and play the game.

I recall that many people at the time had the view that the game had some "evil" overtone and was something that parents should keep their kids away from. While my parents were concerned by something they didn't understand, they were reasonable people... and recognized that there was a lot of reading involved, thinking, and developing of a healthy imagination. Okay, it had some weird looking dice to go along with it and their son went around talking about orcs, elves, and warriors all too frequently, but by and large the game seemed harmless, albeit strange.

Dungeons and Dragons was basically a game in which players created fictional characters who possessed a variety of skills and abilities. These characters were then used in the various games in which we played. The dice controlled elements of the game, but the rest for the most part was up to the imaginations of the players involved.

According to the article "An estimated 20 million people worldwide have played the game, with more than $1bn (£505m) spent on equipment and books."

Gary Gygax passed away on March 4, 2008 at the age of 69. His impact on the role-playing industry as well as video gaming will continue to be felt for years to come. Thanks for many fond memories, a vivid imagination, and in many ways a true passion for writing. Rest in peace.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Chris Ferguson NBC Heads Up Champion 2008

http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/poker-blog/2008/03/373_nbc_headsup_championship_23

I won't even try to cover it better than the rest of my fellow poker bloggers, but suffice it to say that Chris Ferguson was crowned NBC Heads Up Champion for 2008, after besting Andy Bloch. Check out Michael Craig's post, for the final showdown report! Congratulations Chris on the win!

On another note, I'm nearly finished with Michael Craig's book The Professor, The Banker, and The Suicide King. I'll put together a review as soon as I'm done and post it to the blog. But for now, suffice it to say what a great read. The story itself is incredibly engaging... but the real credit goes to Mr. Craig for exceptional storytelling. More later, when I pull my thoughts together.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Yet another turned to the dark side

Thanks to JR's quick thinking and the built-in camera of his uber-cool techno gadget (a.k.a the iPhone) we have this undeniable proof that the forces of the NDPT have claimed yet another victim. Here you see Nikki stacking the chips from yet another won pot on her way to taking down her first ever Texas Hold 'em Tournament. Right now she's batting 1,000!!! Since I wasn't there I'm glad that there's photographic proof. And before anyone can silence me, I needed to get it out here on the blog for all the world to see.

My fellow NDPT'ers you do me proud. We've brought yet another convert into the fold. May the poker gods have mercy on her soul.

All joking aside, Nikki, I for one am glad you gave it a shot and hope you enjoyed the game and congratulations on the win. When the planets align and the cards fall just right it's a thing of beauty. So, should I start signing you up for the rest of the year for our other tournaments? It's not too late to dive into the NDPT 2008 Points Race. : )

Regards,

cheer_dad

The Yanok game recap, plus...

I wanted to at least get in a weekend post to sort of recap. It's not all that exciting but it's my life. Friday night Teresa and I had two options for poker, but we had earlier committed to the Yanok game which we always enjoy, so we had to pass on Shuman's. We got started around 7:30, playing short handed at two tables. I think we had 11 players total. I was at the 5 seater. Dismal cards...just horrid! I recognized a number of times that bluffs were flying, but more often than not I was looking down at hands that would be better played at the blackjack table. 7-4, 8-3, 9-2. Couple that with the fact that you're only sitting with 200 in chips from the get go. Blinds are 1/2, 2/4, 5/10, 10/20, 25/50, 50/100, yeah you see the exponentially expanding pokerverse. I realized by the time the second blind stage finally came around that we were playing fast, really fast and that waiting around wasn't going to work, so I began to take a few shots. Only once or twice did a stone cold bluff actually work for me though, and that only at the 5/10 level. Unfortunately for me every time I had the position on the table to bluff, I got called by my lovely wife!!! Every time and I do mean every time, she called or raised my ass. She told me later, that she wasn't getting a read, but just always had the goods to go along with my poor timing. I was sandwiched between JR to my right, Robert to my left, Chris S after Robert, and then Teresa. There were three people at the table who were actively playing position and catching some decent cards. Teresa I don't think played her position as well, but was cleaning up on some great cards. Although I did question her call with the J-8s, when I tried once again to steal the blinds. I busted out shortly after we went to one table. Opting to get involved in a hand when I had nothing but there were a lot of chips in a big pot that might have got me back on track if I could simply suck out. I wasn't going to make it through the blinds with the stack I had, so I think it was the move to make. In the end Teresa came up with the winning hand in that pot, with her pocket Jacks. She sent two of us to the rail on that hand. This gave her a sizable stack at this point. I went outside to grab some air and a beer, and shortly after they went on break. Teresa came out where I was just to chat. I offered her only ONE piece of advice. I told her that she needed to stop flat-calling. The stakes were high at this point, and she didn't need to be in there risking for no good reason. That was the only real flaw I'd seen in her game for the night. She was calling, when faced with a raise, when I clearly knew on a few occasions that she had monster cards. She needed to be reraising and eliminating others right then and there. I didn't know if she'd listen or not, but I hoped. I didn't find out til later that night. Nikki, JR, and I opted to leave right then and head up to the Eagles since Mirror Mirror was playing, and they always put on a great show! When Teresa got there she told me she came in 2nd, but had lost to Erik, when he called her all-in with A-Q, with his Q-J, but he nailed a straight on the river. No complaint or argument there. In with the best of it, but came up empty. Julie told me that she did tighten up after I left... and didn't do much calling. It was either fold or raise with her from then on. In Julie's words, "her ass was squeakin'!" Congratulations Erik on the win, but I'm much more proud of Big Red! : )

The "party" continued at the Eagles until the wee-hours. I say that cause I don't have a clue what time we left. I stopped drinkin' beer along the way, and re-waged my war on Jack Daniels. The fog of war quickly ensued. I enjoyed the band, good friends, and lots and lots of bared cleavage on the dance floor. Man, Mirror Mirror's got some groupies now. And I've said it before I'll say it again... YEY BOOBIES!!! : )

Saturday was a day of laundry and relaxation. We finally got to watch this weeks episode of LOST. I thought it was great, I like the whole time-line shift angle. Teresa wasn't so sure, at first, but I think she came around near the end of the episode. She's also convinced that Desmond looks much better with short hair. Yet another "man" for her to add to her collection of eye candy.

Not sure what's in store for today, but I'll meet it head on as usual, this has been a good week. I do think there's a Pokerspace.com freeroll today over at Walker Poker that I'll get in. $500 freeroll, with just over 200 players. We'll see. I did finally sign up at Walker, after passing the sponsorship quiz, although I only passed it at the $25 level, not the $50. This site has taught me one thing... I don't know as much about odds and percentages as I thought I did. There's always room to learn.

Regards,

cheer_dad